How to turn a large collared shirt into a sleevless mini dress

I picked this large shirt up from an op shop a while ago, it was only $1 and I liked the fabric so i thought ‘why not’. As much as I like oversized shirts I figured it was time I turned it into something more fitting…

What you will need:

Large collared shirt
Scissors
Sewing Pins
Sewing Machine
Iron

Step 1.Put the oversized shirt on inside out. With sewing pins, mark where your waist is (A) and where your arm holes and sides (B) are located. With a pen or pencil, trace the shape leaving a seam allowance of at least 1cm.

Step 2. With a scissors cut along line A and B. You should now have the following pieces:

Step 3. With the shirt inside out, sew the side seams connecting the front and back together again.

Step 4. You can add darts to make the top more fitted. As you can see in the diagram below, the point of the dart is located just below the breast and runs all the way down to the waist. Put the top on inside out for an accurate placement and once again, pin and trace where the dart will go.

Step 5. To sew the dart pinch line A and C together so that they meet and align perfectly. While still pinching pull line B in. Sew along line A&C on the inside of your garment.

Step 6. To get a perfect arm hole, sew 1cm into your garment following the circumference. Remember, you do not need to attach or fold anything at this point as this stitch is just a marker.

Step 7. At the marker stitch, fold the edge of the arm hole in while ironing to keep it in place. You will notice that the stitch will make it easier to maintain the shape of the arm hole.

Once you have ironed all around the arm hole, sew the fold in place.

Step 8. Now it is time to attach the skirt. As you can see, the top is now considerably smaller than the bottom. The first thing you need to do is align the button holes and the buttons by pinning the top and bottom together into place. The next things you need to align are the side seams. Gather all the excess in between the seams and pin into place. Make sure that the button holes, buttons and 2 side seams align perfectly.

Fold the top onto the bottom so that the right sides are facing in. Sew along the waistline that you just pinned to complete the garment.Ta-da!